How To Find Cable Programs That You Really Want To Watch

March 25, 1988|By Jim Sulski.

You say you forgot to tape the last showing of ``Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom`` on HBO? You missed your favorite episode of ``Mr. Ed`` on Nickelodeon? You didn`t know that the Arts & Entertainment Network was showing episodes of the cult comedy classic ``Police Squad``?

Welcome to the wonderful world of cable programming.

Because of cable`s diversity and its sheer volume of programs, many cable viewers are learning that it`s not easy to muddle through the massive assortment of cable fare that`s available every month.

Often, cable viewers turn to their monthly cable guides in an effort to plan their viewing schedules. Usually, such monthly guides-the Cable Guide and Cabletime are two examples-come free with the viewer`s basic cable subscription.

Using a cable guide to find programs, however, can be a frustrating and confusing experience for many viewers for a number of reasons:

- In size and shape, some of the monthly cable guides resemble small phone books. Some are hundreds of pages long with thousands of program listings.

- The guides usually list nothing more than program titles. Except for movies or specials, there is rarely any information on program content.

- Most guides list only cable channels. Rarely do they note local broadcast network-affiliate or independent stations.

- The guides are usually produced months in advance, which means recent program changes aren`t included.

Cable guides are also heavily oriented toward cable`s pay (or movie)

channels, say officials of cable`s basic channels.

``Generally, cable guides go for pay services as opposed to basic services,`` said Eileen Fitzpatrick, the listing editor with the Arts & Entertainment (A&E) Network, ``because (the cable guide producers) believe that movies and stars are what will pull viewers in.``

``The cable guides seem to have a natural prejudice toward the pay services,`` added Andy Besch, vice president of marketing of cable`s USA Network. ``Most of their information is centered toward the premium channels.``

Thus, cable guides may be good vehicles for finding out what`s on HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, the Disney Channel and the Movie Channel; however, they may not be very helpful when it comes to the basic channels, everything from A&E to MTV to VH-1.

In addition, cable guides rarely mention local origination or public-access programs provided by the local cable operator. Information on such programs is usually relegated to an electronic-guide channel on the cable system.

Part of the problem is the massive number of programs on cable.

``Quite frankly, there`s so much on cable that there isn`t any one guide that comes close to really highlighting everything,`` said Joe Willoughby, director of programming and advertising for Continental Cablevision, which serves several dozen Chicago suburbs.

But according to cable officials, there are a number of ways viewers can best find cable programs suited to their tastes:

- If you`re more interested in basic cable programming, cable officials tout other publications-including standard television guides (such as TV Guide) and newspaper Sunday supplement guides (such the Tribune`s TV Week)-as good vehicles for keeping abreast of what`s on. Because most of these guides are published on a weekly basis, they contain current information.

In addition, such guides are now beginning to offer program information on the more ``narrowcast`` shows.

For example, the USA Network`s ``Night Flight`` show is often a mixed bag of programming-everything from videos to movies to celebrity profiles. Several shows are scheduled late each Friday and Saturday night.

In the past, ``Night Flight`` rarely received more than a single guide listing for the entire night, said Andy Besch, vice president of marketing for the network.

Now, however, many weekly guides are offering information on each of the dozen or so ``Night Flight`` shows that air each weekend, Besch said. The weekly guides ``have become much more comprehensive with their cable listings in recent times,`` he added. ``They are no longer segregating cable and broadcast television as they once did.``

- Many cable networks are offering guides to their own channels. Such guides, some of which cost several dollars per year (see accompanying story), include extensive listings, previews of shows and feature stories about current programs.

Viewers can subscribe to most of these program guides. Or they may be available through local cable franchise offices.

Some guides, such as the A&E Cable Network Guide, are digest-sized magazines offering day-by-day capsule descriptions of shows as well as highlight information. Others are a bit more extensive.

The Discovery Channel Guide, for example, is a full-size magazine offering elaborate features on its programming as well as calendars and alphabetical listing of programs.